Zutara Month 2012 Drabbles & Ficlets
by HarlowR
Summary: My entries for Zutara Month 2012.
1. Luminous

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**A/N: **These are my entries for Zutara Month 2012; I'm grouping them together since they're generally quite short (most are 100-word drabbles). The first entry (If the Sky's Gonna Fall Down) is a separate story because it's longer. These entries stand on their own and aren't meant to be sequential, although some of them can be considered to take place within the same timeline if you squint.

* * *

He always leaves her asleep beneath the sun's first rays, peaceful but alone. She manages.

Every day, he must be back in his own room by the time the servants arrive, lest they be discovered. He manages.

This time, however, her blue eyes watch as he stands before the window. The sun rises to greet him like a friend, his form shielding her face from its glare. Around him, the light's frame is like a halo, enveloping every dip and crest of the body she knows with her fingers, her tongue, and her heart.

"I'll be back tonight."

"I know."


	2. Potential

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary: **Iroh considers the potential effects of a certain relationship.

* * *

Arguments, fights, agreements reached with cold, hesitant civility. Former General Iroh had witnessed the reign of three Fire Lords, and closely studied that of dozens more. Yet in all his life he had never seen one run into as much trouble as his nephew did.

Zuko had stepped up tremendously. Iroh had always known the boy had what it took, but if he was being very honest, he would admit to sometimes wondering if Zuko would have matured enough to not make too many mistakes before eventually getting it right. He was stubborn, and determined, and a very hard worker, but he was also impulsive and currently under a lot of pressure, so there was a much higher risk than usual of things blowing up in his face.

He was also sensitive, insecure, and in need of constant validation, which Iroh had noticed long before the banishment. It was one of the reasons why he had chosen to accompany Zuko then in the first place: to provide the support necessary for the Prince to keep his sanity and basic emotional health through such a trying period. It had been heartbreaking to see Zuko constantly rejected by his father, whose love he had wanted so desperately. All Iroh could ever do was give Zuko his own love; sometimes it hadn't been enough, and Iroh had certainly never expected anything in return, but he was glad Zuko had come to appreciate it, and now valued Iroh's input and advice.

Which was why he was in the Fire Nation Capital at the moment, instead of in his beloved tea shop in Ba Sing Se. And why he was sitting in on a heated discussion between his nephew and three Earth Kingdom leaders, plus a delegation from the Northern Water Tribe – a discussion that was going absolutely nowhere, and starting to get a bit too loud for his taste.

It had become clear to him soon after Zuko's coronation that regardless of the Fire Lord's humble attitude towards other countries, his clear desire to atone for his predecessor's mistakes, and his close relationship with the Avatar, the other nations were simply too distrustful of him, as they would have been of anybody in his position. Despite it all, Zuko was still a quintessential Fire Nation man – the very example of what they'd come to fear and hate. They simply couldn't seem to get past that prejudice.

And that was where a certain Waterbender could help, Iroh believed.

Zuko was in love with her, that much was obvious. Iroh didn't know her as well, but he could see there was at least some interest on her part. She had a very strong personality, but she was also kind, caring, and affectionate – exactly what his nephew needed. They worked very well together and seemed to trust and respect each other to an extent that initially rather surprised Iroh. It wasn't clear to him if they were already together (which, considering Zuko's remarkable skill at being sneaky and his general preference for privacy, could very well be the case) or not, but either way, they should be.

It would be the perfect solution to their troubles. A relationship with someone from a different country – from the surviving country who was most ruined by the Fire Nation over the last one hundred years, no less – someone who was well-known for her courage, moral fiber, and for her part in ending the war? Iroh was convinced it would show the other leaders (and the people) of the world how different from his predecessors Zuko actually was. Together, they would represent the new era, in which nations and elements no longer defined a person's identity and character, and harmony and freedom were the new ideals to be strived for.

Iroh smiled to himself. It felt like he had just written half his speech for their wedding day in his head.

Now, he thought as he poured another round of much-needed chamomile tea, all he needed to do was wait until they realized it for themselves. If they didn't, well…he might have to take matters into his own hands.


	3. Change

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

Katara's skin glistens from being carefully scrubbed for the better part of an hour. Her face is flushed and her hair is shiny, spilling from the skillful fingers of servants. Their touch is gentle, but Katara has yet to get used to having so many hands on her.

Standing, she lifts her arms and slips into the final layer of her royal robes, made of the deepest blue silk the Fire Nation has to offer. Her topknot secures a simple gold crown: the full moon, mother of her people, and within it the burning fire that represents her second home.


	4. Serenade

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary:** Old!Katara and Zuko meet again.

* * *

You hear the music's sweet sound before you see him. The notes travel like the sad, wailing wind of the South Pole. You haven't heard the tsungi horn in years – decades, even – and your eyes are wet before you know it.

You see him now. His hands are wrinkled and spotted (like yours); his face is scarred and worry-lined (unlike yours). You've avoided that face for so long that it astonishes you that you still remember every detail.

The song ends and he looks up. There's a thousand years of silence between you. You take a deep breath.

"Hi."


	5. Desired

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

Zuko drew a shaky breath in between pants and gasps, his leg muscles threatening to become jelly. He could barely stand the need to thrust up into the air, his hand a poor substitute for the luscious, dark skin in his thoughts.

Dark. He pictured himself pulling her hips down onto his, repeatedly joining them as she let out a girlish moan. He remembered the way she moved on the grass of the oasis, her body dancing as she bent the ice around him: a helpless little girl turned warrior before his eyes.

Zuko whined softly, hand furiously at work.


	6. Pride

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary:** Sometimes, you have to be the one who adapts.

* * *

When the moon was high and she couldn't sleep, deliciously tired beside him but unnaturally restless, Katara sometimes wondered what the hell she was doing.

He couldn't follow her wherever. He'd said he would, if he could; that he didn't care where she went – _if he could_, he would go. But he _couldn't_.

So she would have to stay. She would have to be the one to adapt.

Something inside her screamed with indignation – her pride, she knew. _How can you just accept this? He probably just expects you to do it because you're a woman. The entire world expects you to be the one to adapt. _It made a bitterness rise up in her throat, a familiar sense of injustice.

It wasn't the case here. The world expected her to wrap her life around his, but she knew he didn't. She knew that every day he was terrified she would chose her own freedom, because he was powerless to follow and couldn't blame her if she did. She knew it was entirely up to her.

Her pragmatic side asked her what exactly she wanted to do. Go back to the South Pole? And do what, teach Waterbending to the new generations of benders, perhaps? Would she even have a voice there, politically, now that over half its population came from the Northern tribe? Would she eventually settle down, have kids? With whom? She doubted she would be happy with any of the available men there, considering they all came from the North. Their expectations on her as a woman and as a wife simply wouldn't suit her. She would insist on teaching both combative and healing Waterbending to all benders, regardless of gender, and she was sure that was _not_ going to go over very well. (In fact, she reminded herself, she would have to find a way to make sure all Waterbenders had access to all techniques anyway, whether she stayed in the South Pole or not.)

The truth was that she didn't have a well-defined life plan. All she knew was that she wanted to dedicate herself to her bending, learning all there was to be learned and maybe even developing some techniques of her own, eventually – because bending was a lot of who she was. She definitely wanted to help the world achieve peace, harmony, and equality. She wanted to stay as close to her friends as possible. And yes, she wanted to have a family of her own.

Those were all things she could do from the Fire Nation. Her bending was wherever she was; she might have to invite teachers over, or to leave temporarily to learn from them, but ultimately one's bending work was done alone. The Fire Nation would be central to all political negotiations, and if she wanted to participate, being there was pretty much a requirement, at least in the beginning. It was the reason why she hadn't left yet, in fact. And for the time being, all her friends were still here. Even if they eventually left, chances were the Fire Nation would be closer to wherever they went to than the South Pole.

As for having a family…well. The six of them were already a family, true, but…she wanted a husband, and eventually children of her own as well. She turned on her side to look at his sleeping face beside her. It was strange to think of their relationship that far ahead; they hadn't even discussed anything like that. And yet…it was suddenly clear to her there was nowhere else they could be headed. It wasn't a bad realization; quite the opposite…but it was rather heavy. If they ever ended things, it would be for some specific reason, like if she decided she didn't want to stay in the Fire Nation. If not – if they stayed together – they were in it for good.

Because of the way he listened, she realized. The way he listened, and understood, and accepted who she was. He never made her feel inadequate, and it had taken her a while to notice what that felt like. It was subtle, but it was there: everyone else, as much as they loved her, sometimes made very clear that they didn't care for several of her qualities. That was okay; she didn't care for many of theirs, either, and it didn't make her love them any less. But it stung, sometimes, to have it thrown in your face that the way you are rubs them the wrong way. Zuko had never done that to her, and she still remembered the shock she had felt when she'd realized it. He was just…always there. At first it seemed like an impersonal quality, like maybe he was just unassuming with everybody – and, in a way, he was. But the closer the two of them grew, the sweeter and gentler and more accepting he became with her; soon, it was with him that she felt safest, and didn't even know why.

She knew she'd never find that anywhere else. That she'd never find someone that made her feel _this way_; they might love her, sure, but…not like this. The more he showed her of the real him, the more she loved what she saw. And the more vulnerable he let himself be in her presence, the more she discovered that they fit perfectly together; that he needed her and that she needed him. Not to live, maybe, but to be truly happy and fulfilled in this lifetime.

So of course she would stay, Katara thought, running gentle fingers through his hair. It might bother her a little that her relationship wasn't going to look like the perfect example of progressiveness from the outside, at least superficially, but there were more important things to think about. She might have to wear a Fire Nation crown and be pressured to have babies and be looked down upon by her tribe. But in reality she would be freer to be exactly who she wanted than in any other situation. Because being who she wanted included being with him.


	7. Prejudice

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

She notices the looks she gets. Walking down halls, sitting at the head of the table, giving her opinion as decidedly as she ever did, but about bigger things now.

Katara has never experienced this before. The Fire Nation used to be a much more overt oppressor in her experience, causing death and misery – not frustration, self-doubt, and – she hates to admit it – shame. It is one thing to know, distantly, that they think all other nations are inferior – that's why they started the war, after all.

It is something else entirely to feel that disdain in your bones.


	8. Sublime

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

In all his life, Zuko has never known much about beauty.

He knows of pain, and he knows of… intensity. Every important thing he has ever felt can be better described as _intense_ than happy or sad or beautiful. His emotions have always been a throbbing mass in his chest, a complicated knot that he couldn't untie if he tried.

He sits beside the sleeping woman on the bed, careful not to wake her. His fingers ghost over her long hair, the soft skin of her eyelids, and rest lightly on her cheek.

The knot tugs painfully at his heart.


	9. Affliction

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

Sometimes, Katara counts his scars.

There are the big, the obvious ones, on his face and chest. The latter he got because of her, and she will never forget that.

There are the smaller, discreet ones, all over his skin: cuts from swords and knives, that he got while discovering who he is and where he belongs.

Then there are the ones she can't see; a sea of unfathomable hurts underneath his skin, where no spirit water will ever reach.

She cradles his body with hers, hoping that maybe, if she uses all of her, she can bend him better.


	10. Intimacy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary: **Sometimes people barge into your life and then you can't live without them.

* * *

"I like this room, to be honest," she says, sitting on the bed.

"Me too." He sits beside her. "But apparently it's not appropriate for me to sleep here anymore."

"But why not? I mean, you're Fire Lord; don't you get to sleep wherever you want?"

"Not really. The Fire Lord has his own special quarters with more luxury and security and whatever. This is just a prince's room."

"A princess room?" she teases, flashing him a grin. He scowls rather half-heartedly.

"Ha ha, that's hilarious. A room that belongs to a prince."

"I know," she giggles. "Fancy."

"Yeah." He pauses. "You do know what it means, right?"

"What?"

"It means I have to move to my father's old room," he answers, looking vaguely disturbed.

"Oh, that's right," she says, then looks thoughtful for a moment. "And if that's the Fire Lord's room, isn't it also…you know, where your grandfather died?"

"Ugh, you're right!" he exclaims, dismayed. "I hadn't even thought of that. Gross."

"Can't you get it, like, refurbished or something?"

"I guess…"

"Because that's just horrible. Who knows what other Fire Lords did in there."

"You're not helping."

"Of course I am! I'm giving you ideas and incentive to accept my ideas!"

"Well, it feels like a bit of a waste of money, especially at a time like this. I don't want people to think I'm a spender or anything. But I guess it's important…"

"Well, I think so," she declares. "On the bright side, at least you weren't conceived there…"

"Ew! Can we not talk about that?" She's laughing, and he smiles despite himself. "But I guess I should still get a new bed."

"Yeah, with a new mattress and new sheets. You should probably replace the rest of the furniture, too."

"What? Why?"

"Well, your father probably wrote orders to get people murdered or something on that desk."

Zuko looks disgusted.

"I'd just change everything, really," she continues. "The curtains, the carpet, the closet – everything. It was all his, after all. The evil may have rubbed off on all of it."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

"Of course I am." He means to roll his eyes, but ends up smiling at her instead. Funny how smugness just suits her face.

* * *

"So which side of the bed do you prefer?" he asks her when they are spooning on hers.

"Hmm? I didn't realize we had to pick a side, don't we just switch all the time?"

"Well, I guess we do here, for now…but I mean on my new bed."

A pause. "I didn't know I'd get to pick a side there," she finally says, sounding a bit careful.

"Well, yeah. I mean, eventually." He starts to say more, but stops himself. She turns to lie on her back and face him.

"Eventually?"

Facing her rather disconcerts him. "Y-yeah. Don't people do that? Pick a side, I mean. On their bed."

"You mean…couples? Who share a bed? ...Permanently?"

"Yeah. Aren't we one?"

She's on her side now, her body fully facing him. "We are a couple." Her fingers make a pattern on his chest and she keeps her eyes down. "But I guess we don't really share a bed…permanently."

Zuko's throat feels slightly dry. "Well, I thought…you know, eventually…_my_ bed might be our…_permanent_ bed."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

She smiles openly and he feels his heart melt – whether it's from love or relief he can't tell.

"So, which side?" he asks again, smiling.

"I don't know! I've never had to pick a side before. Actually, I've never really slept in a double bed before," she adds. "Which side did you used to sleep on, back when you were a kid?"

"Um…I think I just slept in the middle."

"In the middle?" She gives him a playful slap on the arm. "And where am I going to sleep, then?"

"I don't know!" he answers, laughing. "That's why I was asking." He pauses, then adds, smirking: "You can have all the space you want. You can sleep in the middle if you want! I'll just need a bit of space on the edge there…"

"Poor baby," she deadpans, giving him a cynical look. Then she smiles. "That's okay, I don't need _that_ much space." She runs her fingers through his hair "Just half is fine."

"…Which half?"

Katara laughs. "I don't know! I don't know what the difference is between the sides."

"I guess it depends on what side of my face you want to wake up to – the good one or the bad one."

"There is no bad one!" she says sternly.

"Fine, the scarred side or the non-scarred one," he corrects with an eye-roll.

Her eyes are soft as she brings her lips to the angry skin right below his eye. "I don't really care either way."

Zuko closes his eyes, heart going a mile a minute. He nuzzles her chin and she nuzzles him back, their lips almost touching.

"Really?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah." She smiles. "I love it just as much as the rest of you."


	11. Mistake

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

For the first time, Zuko notices the intricate design on the hem of his new Fire Lord robes; the way the fabric has been carefully pierced at exact intervals, the way the gold thread compliments the dark red background.

Then, he figures he can no longer avoid her face.

Her blue eyes look watery, twice betrayed. She is lovelier than he remembered. "I thought we at least had a chance..."

His chest aches. Guilt, fear and something else. Longing. He wishes she had never left his side after the battle with Azula. "It was never more than that for us."


	12. Festival

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

The lamps flicker above her head, swaying in the soft summer night breeze. Around her, the wooden faces are colorful and wild; no one knows whose eyes are underneath the masks, and no one wants to.

Large hands snake around her waist, and Katara turns around to see him. His mask is a plain blue piece that covers the upper part of his face, its simplicity itself a disguise. On his lips, a smirk she would know anywhere: a strange mix of smug and shy that gives her butterflies.

Here, everyone is hiding and they are free.

She kisses him.


	13. Stranger

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

It's not with a little effort that you hide your discomfort. The outside world is 'old-fashioned'; it's idiotic, really, in your opinion, to be so impressed at the sight of a woman _in your condition_.

_Pass them the fucking smelling salts_, you think to yourself rather grumpily.

You've always been better at entertaining than Zuko, but for now he's the one who has to do all the dirty work – you can't bring yourself to care about anything but your throbbing feet and bursting bladder. He doesn't really complain.

Privately, you smile to yourself. You can't wait to meet her.


	14. Wonderland

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

He doesn't realize it until later, but it starts under Ba Sing Se.

She is desperately open; she doesn't care that he sees inside her heart. And he thought she hated him, but she turns around and touches his face, offers to give him her most valuable thing for no reason except to help him.

She plants the seed of _hope_, then – hope that somewhere, kindness is normal; that simple acceptance is a thing.

It stays in the back of his mind until he finally gathers the courage to jump into an unknown that only promises him one thing: her.


	15. Separate

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

Katara has learned to listen to her guts a long time ago.

It's a distinct feeling, when you're not doing what they tell you to. Sometimes you suppress it for so long that you forget how to pick it out from the constant misery you're probably in.

But Katara _can tell_ when she's doing something wrong. And it's getting worse with every step she takes towards Appa.

Aang is ready to take off. She looks back almost without thinking; Zuko is there, watching from a distance.

Her choice feels wrong, and she's sick to her stomach. But she keeps walking.


	16. Snow & Heat

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary: **Late summer days can be _really hot_ in the Fire Nation.

* * *

Before leaving her home, Katara had never really known hot weather. In the South Pole, they knew heat from the fire; they knew body heat that made them sweat under the heavy furs; occasionally even the sunshine would feel warm on their cheeks. But heat that stayed in the air around you; that forced you to wear as little clothing as possible even though being _naked_ wouldn't really help at all; that made it feel like you weren't breathing enough air, no matter how much of it you inhaled? That didn't exist in the South Pole. The air was sharp there, and dry, and always freezing. It was only until she and Sokka accompanied Aang to the Earth Kingdom that they started experiencing heat, even during its so-called winter. They'd had to stop wearing their furs pretty soon, and hadn't needed them again until they'd gotten to the North Pole.

The very thought of wearing furs made Katara reach for her water skin and take a sip. Droplets of sweat ran down her neck and back, dampening her hair, wrappings and clothes. She periodically bent the perspiration off, but being dry didn't bring much relief. The water may have been bent off, but the salts and other components in the sweat remained on her skin, making her feel grittier by the minute; besides, she was already producing more of it by the time she was done. Her hair was so wild she suspected even a braid couldn't tame it. It was up in a half-topknot, since none of the hair ornaments available to her could contain its entire mass. She sighed, sliding down a bit further on the stone bench. It had felt cool against her skin when she had first sat on it, but by now it didn't feel any different than the air around her, even beneath one of the largest trees in the Fire Nation palace. She had _never_ experienced weather this hot before. Even the desert had at least been cool at night.

She heard soft footsteps on the grass behind her, but couldn't really muster the energy to turn around and see who it was. A few seconds later, Zuko plopped down on the bench beside her and sighed. She glanced at him, then gave a dismayed gasp.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't believe you're wearing those stuffy clothes! It's so hot I'm almost melting!"

"I know. These are my formal clothes, I have to wear them whenever I'm in an official Fire Lord capacity," he explained, sounding miserable.

"Well, are you in an official Fire Lord capacity right now?"

"Not right now, but I will be in a few minutes. I kind of ran away for a little while," he confessed. "They don't know where I am."

Katara gave him a sympathetic look. "How many layers?"

"Three. It's usually four, but I gave up the…innermost layer to try and make it less stuffy."

"The innermost layer? You mean your underwear?" she asked, blushing. For the first time, she was glad of the heat; her cheeks were probably already flushed, so he wouldn't be able to tell.

He smiled, not meeting her eyes. "Yeah. It didn't help much though. I think I'm starting to get dehydrated from all the sweating."

Indeed, the wisps of his hair that had escaped his topknot were plastered to his neck and face, and Katara could see numerous beads of sweat running down his skin into his expensive robes. Silently, she moved her fingers and extracted the dampness from his clothes, body, and hair, dumping it on the grass in front of them. He seemed surprised at first; then, he smiled.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Not that it helps much," she said, somewhat apologetically.

"It helps plenty. I mean, it's not like I'll stop sweating, so at least there's less of it in my clothes or something."

"Yeah." The back of her dress was already wet. Then, an idea occurred to her. "Let me try something." He glanced at her curiously. She sat up and reached behind her, moving her fingers in a slow bending motion. The sweat on her back instantly solidified, and the sudden temperature contrast caused her to arch her back and gasp.

"What?" Zuko sounded slightly alarmed. She moved slowly, trying to adapt to the icy layer she'd created. It was already melting. She turned to look at him.

"I turned the sweat on my back into ice."

"Oh." He glanced at her back and licked his lips. "How did it feel?"

"The shock was a little too strong at first, to be honest. It was nice after, but the ice's already melted, so it doesn't last very long. I guess it is a little refreshing," she conceded. She placed her fingers on the back of her head and tried the same motion, but much more slowly and deliberately. The layer of sweat beneath her thick hair and on the back of her neck solidified less abruptly than before, but the contrast was still uncomfortable at first, and Katara grunted. When she opened her eyes, Zuko was staring at the goosebumps that had appeared all over her arms. "Want me to do you?"

"Eh?" he said as he looked back up at her, eyes slightly wide. "Oh. Yeah, sure."

Katara moved her hand as gently as possible. She could almost see the thin ice crystals forming beneath his hair and on his neck and back. He closed his eyes and moaned, arching his back slightly as her hand swept the air behind him. Suddenly, his reactions from before seemed to make a lot more sense, and Katara blushed. His eyes were still closed, and before the ice on his neck had fully melted, she leaned forward and gently blew on it. He shuddered and smiled at her. She could see the goosebumps forming on his neck and couldn't fight a small, satisfied smirk from gracing her lips.

"You're right, it is a little strong at first," he said, a half-smile still on his face. "But...I liked it."

"Yeah," Katara replied, not feeling particularly eloquent. She mentally shook her head to regain some focus. "It's probably not very healthy to keep doing it though. The temperature shock will probably give you a cold or something. And the only thing worse than weather this hot is being sick while the weather is this hot."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Still," he added, glancing at her, "maybe a couple more times wouldn't hurt."

"Maybe." She smiled. "Wait, I have another idea that might work." Katara summoned a large ball of water from the nearby pond and brought it over their heads. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on sensing the smallest possible particles in the water separately; then, she prepared herself to freeze them all at the same time. Finally, she spread her fingers and brought her arms down. She sat back on the bench as thousands of tiny snowflakes fell down toward the two of them. A few of them melted before getting to their targets, but several landed on their faces and necks, providing a gentle sort of relief as they touched heated skin.

Katara smiled as she heard Zuko sigh beside her. He was staring at her when she glanced at him, and the soft grin on his lips gave her butterflies. "That was amazing."

"Thanks," she said, slightly breathlessly.


	17. Stubborn

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary:** Zuko tries some last-minute persuasion before a political meeting.

* * *

History would come to know Fire Lady Katara as determined, strong, unyielding; a ruler who fought tooth and nail for what she believed was right.

To her husband, however, she was mostly very, very stubborn.

"Just admit that you're in over your head. What's the problem?"

"I'm not! Zuko, I know what I'm doing, okay. Things are just a bit…volatile at the moment."

"Volatile? There were death threats!"

"Oh, like you take death threats seriously."

"I do when they're directed at you!"

"They weren't. Technically."

"Look, it's not that I don't…respect your political skills." She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's just that maybe_ they _weren't…you know, ready for you."

"Then they never will be. I can't wait for that." She was already leaving the room. He followed her.

"Maybe I should sit in."

"No." She flashed him a smile and shut the door in his face.


	18. Demons

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

In retrospect, Zuko realized his time with the Avatar's group had been like living on an island, far away from his real life and its demands. They were his friends now, yes, but the dynamics they had developed together didn't adapt very well to the real world.

There wasn't any room now to be the person he'd been when he was with them. He'd had hope then; he'd had glimpses of his life becoming something he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams. He'd gotten to know _her_, and his life kept trying to wrap itself around her like that was the natural thing to do, and he was so fucking afraid he could barely think straight.

The very idea of it was a mess from every perspective – politically, logistically, _emotionally_. It would hurt people. It would fuck everything up. And the thought of her made him _ache_, and he didn't know why.

So when Mai came back, he slid right back into that part of his old life. Mai was comfortable. He didn't feel like he had swallowed a hundred butterflies in her presence.

And, if he ever lost her, he might even have a chance to recover.


	19. Traditions

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary:** Marriage traditions can be rather obsolete.

* * *

"So…I've been thinking."

The bed creaks softly as Katara turns on her back and looks at him. In the moonlight, she sees that he has his arms behind his head and is staring at the ceiling. "About what?" she prompts. He thinks about a lot of things these days.

"About your tribe." He pauses. "Do they have some sort of…marrying age?"

"Well…I guess not really. You have to be an adult by the tribe's standards, but that doesn't necessarily have to do with a specific age. I think most people only considered marrying after they'd turned eighteen, anyway."

"'Considered'? What about now?"

"I don't know. I think the Northern Tribe's influence might change things a little."

"You have to be sixteen there, right? In the Northern Tribe?"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"My tutors taught me about it. We learned about the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe…but only the Northern Water Tribe," he adds, sounding apologetic. Katara is surprised to notice that the information stings a little.

"I guess nobody thought we were relevant anymore," she says, slightly cynical.

"I guess not." Zuko only sounds sad.

"Anyway, it is sixteen but I think most men don't marry until they're older than that."

"I see."

"Why have you been thinking about this?" Katara probes. Sometimes, she thinks she can see where he's going with something, but she's learned not to assume. He keeps so much to himself; she needs to extract every bit of information he's willing to give. It's tiring – but rewarding.

"I was curious," he answers after a few moments. She starts to think she's going to have to probe some more, but then he adds: "I mean, you turned seventeen a while ago. If the marrying age were sixteen in your tribe too, there might be some…pressure."

"On me? To get married?"

"Yeah. Or to get you married, even."

"Oh no, our tribe doesn't really do that. I mean…there might be some social pressure on me to pick someone or something, but ultimately it's up to me. It'd probably start getting worse the older I got, though."

"What if you didn't want to get married?"

Katara laughs. "Not really an option. I mean, technically I _could_ do it, but there would be a lot of stigma."

"Yeah, same here. Some women can wait a long time before getting married, but if they don't marry at all it's weird."

"What about men?" Katara asks, giving him a knowing look that he probably can't see.

"I guess nobody cares if they choose not to marry," he says sheepishly.

"Yeah, I thought so."

"Well, except for the Fire Lord." The silence that follows is slightly awkward.

"I guess it's important to have heirs," she finally says.

"Yeah."

"Especially you," she continues rather enthusiastically, happy to think of a way to resume the conversation. "Otherwise doesn't, like, Azula get the throne?"

"If she's deemed competent," he says. "If not, then I guess there's war."

"What if your uncle has another child?"

"Um, I don't think that's likely," he says, sounding vaguely disgusted. "But yeah, then I guess his child would be my heir."

"Hmm." Neither of them speaks for a minute, and Katara wonders if she should push some more.

Then he says: "I guess I was just wondering how _you_ felt about it."

"About marriage?"

"…Yeah."

"I can't say I feel much pressure. Then again, I guess I'm pretty far away from my tribe."

"Yeah."

"Besides," she turns on her side to face him, "I'm happy exactly where I am, right now."

Zuko looks at her. "You are?"

She leans over and kisses him.


	20. Forbidden

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

Ever since she started traveling with Aang, Katara became used to being the authority.

She grew up obeying her elders; when she was very (_very_) young, even Sokka seemed wiser than her just for being older. Somehow, however, that inherent respect and acquiescence gave way to a sureness of herself that did not allow others to govern her person in any way.

It was important. Even her friends came to depend on that.

_I can't believe I'm doing this_, she thinks as she finds herself sneaking around to see the boy _others_ have told her she's not allowed to love.


	21. Serenity

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**A/N:** This is a _Firefly_ crossover.

* * *

Katara was _not_ comfortable with the idea of a Fire Nation man on their ship, doctor or no.

"Look, he's a paying passenger. You know we need the money," Sokka had said.

Aang liked him, but he liked everyone. Suki and Toph were indifferent. But Katara _knew _he had something to hide. Why would he be on Serenity otherwise?

So, she snuck to the cargo bay and opened the giant box he'd brought aboard. Her scream attracted the entire crew.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded.

"This," he said, putting himself between her and the box, "is my sister."


	22. Tea & Light

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary: **It's not just about the passion, after all.

* * *

Katara had never imagined that the winter solstice celebrations could be such a big deal in the Fire Nation; she figured they'd be more of a summer people.

"Well, sure, but the winter solstice is still part of the sun's journey," Zuko had said. After his and Aang's experience with the Sun Warriors, he had been particularly interested in turning his people's attention back to the sun – one of the origins of Firebending – so that they might gradually stop sourcing so much of their inner power from anger and aggression. The Fire Nation people had a terrible reputation with the other nations; it wasn't undeserved, and Zuko wanted to change it. He had been one of the first to make that transformation in his bending, and he wanted to be an example for his people.

He wanted to avoid sounding preachy, or he knew they'd be less likely to follow his advice. So, instead of telling them not to focus on anger, he tried to encourage them to focus on the energy of the sun instead, and hoped they made the transition on their own eventually.

One of his ideas was to revive the huge solstice and equinox celebrations the Fire Nation used to have more than a century before, prior to Sozin's reign, where there would be many reminders of the sun's power and its relation to their people. He also had plans to reform the entire Fire Nation school system, and Firebending training would be one of the first things to be changed, but that was a large undertaking, and it would take time – decades, perhaps. For now, he'd assumed the best way to gain the people's favor would be celebrations of some sort, and he'd been right. The winter solstice festival had lasted three days, and he'd had to be present for most of it. At the end, he was exhausted and slightly cranky; the social aspect of being a politician was probably the part he was worst at. Katara had also been present for a lot of it, but they hadn't had much time to be alone, just the two of them.

She missed it. And as she sat in his private quarters with a pot of tea, waiting for him to retire for the night, she hoped he missed it, too.

"Hey," she said as soon as he'd walked in and closed the door; she didn't want to startle him. He seemed to jump slightly at the sound of her voice, anyway. Then he smiled. The fireplace provided the only lighting in the room, but she figured it was enough. He ran a hand through his hair, removing his crown and throwing it rather unceremoniously on the bed. His hair fell from its topknot as he removed the outer layer of his formal robes, then his shoes. He walked over to the tea table where she sat and kissed the top of her head before sitting down himself.

"Didn't expect you to be here," he said.

She smiled. "I know. I just figured…you know, since we didn't get to be alone much these past few days…" she trailed off, trying not to blush and probably failing. "I mean, in general," she added, and his smirk turned into a soft smile. He reached for a large candle that had been on the center of the table and brought it closer to them, then lit it.

"I missed you, too," he said, a bit shyly.

She poured them the tea and they sat quietly in the candlelight for several minutes, enjoying each other's company in the simplest, most domestic manner. It touched something inside Katara's heart, and she smiled as she realized what it meant. She loved their more passionate moments – the sparring, the sex – but it was _this_ that lasting relationships were really made of: the knowledge that ultimately, she could spend her days having quotidian moments just like this one with him, and she'd be happy. The world demanded so much from the both of them, but their relationship didn't contribute to that – even though it might cause some of it. Instead, it provided relief from it.

It was impossible to forget the difficulty of their situation, but the realization lent her a spark of hope that made her almost giddy – hope that everything might work out in the end, that she might be able to keep the love of her life now that she'd found him (wasn't that supposed to be the hardest part – the finding?). As they finished their tea, she stood and walked over to him, then settled herself on his lap. His arms went immediately around her like being straddled by a Waterbender was the most natural thing in the world, and she rained little kisses on his jaw and neck. "You have to remember to wake me up as early as possible, or I won't be able to sneak out properly," she said sternly.

"I will." She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to his bed.


	23. Holiday

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**Summary:** The Fire Lord finally gets some private free time in Ember Island with his girlfriend.

* * *

Your toes bury themselves in the sand and the water laps at your ankles. The sea used to bring you the worst of memories: rejection, loneliness, inadequacy. But now you love it. The smell of it, the griminess of the salt on your skin, the way it pulls the earth from beneath your feet like it's shifting gravity itself. You yield to it. To _her_.

You close your eyes. The anticipation makes you happier than you've been in months. You can't wait for all the servants to leave like you've requested. You can't wait to have her all to yourself.


	24. Similarity

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

"Stop calling me that! And correct your damned stance!" he snaps at Aang, and suddenly Katara is jarred by the reality that this boy and the menacing prince that used to chase them mercilessly around the world are one and the same.

She knew it, of course – but she knew it with her head, not her heart. Privately, the more she got to know him, the harder she found it to fit them into the same person. But now it's like something clicked inside her, meshing the two of them together. Looking at him now, she can almost picture his old armor, the ponytail. The scowl is the same, she realizes.

But something more significant has changed. He's smaller now, like he's more contained in himself instead of constantly emanating that air of frustration, anger, _hate_. She wonders to what extent he still feels that way, and what happened between then and now.

More importantly, she wonders how much of that transformation happened within herself.


	25. Atonement

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

**A/N:** This was inspired by a piece of fanart by the talented Drisela; sadly, FFN won't let me include the link here :/

* * *

His tongue is like a hot, slippery _something _(it's like her brain keeps trying to make sense of the situation but she feels dazed, almost feverish); it glides along her outer lips only to slide into an open-mouthed kiss that draws a breathy moan out of her. She rolls her hips forward hoping to get more, _more_, and his fingers tighten on her thighs.

Then he finds that nub, the one she's found by herself before; his lips close around it and he _sucks_.

As a wave of unbelievable pleasure overtakes her, Katara decides she might forgive him yet.


	26. Steam

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

It is the intimacy of it that makes her do it, she realizes.

Long after they are over the phase when one of them can't bathe without the other joining in and water eventually splashing everywhere, she still does it. There is hot water in every bathroom in the palace; it's really not necessary at all.

But she still always asks him to heat her bathwater in the evening, and he always does it and never complains.

"Is this good?" he asks, one hand submerged in the water. Steam rises from it, fogging up the mirror above it.

"It's perfect."


	27. Gravity

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

"I feel like I'm fourteen again!"

"Really? 'Cause I still feel forty-seven."

"Oh, don't be so grumpy. This is fun!"

It was, actually. At least peculiar, in a way. Zuko had never really thought that revisiting the Western Air Temple to see how the repairs were going would bring back so many memories, and with them such a strong mix of nostalgia and something else he couldn't quite place.

"This is where I first begged to join you," he murmured, lost in thought. Katara hummed in agreement.

A low rumbling from above caught his ear; without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back towards him. They both fell down on their sides as rocky debris hit the floor where she'd been standing.

Katara turned her head toward him, eyes mischievous. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping rocks from crushing you," he said, fighting a smirk.


	28. Eve

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, its concepts, or its characters. No money is being made out of this.

* * *

There have always been candles, but now you hate them for their funereal glow. You walk on anyway, and return to the bedroom you have shared your entire lives.

He looks the same despite the weakness; he takes up half the bed, leaving your half empty. It is almost as if he is simply preparing for another night's rest, but you _know_ these are your last few hours together. His breath is audible, almost wheezing, and you wonder when old age snuck up on the both of you. It hits you that you will spend your last bit of life alone, and those few years suddenly seem like an eternity.

You choke back a sob – your first since he fell ill. His hand reaches for yours and you grasp it. He smiles at you in a soft, knowing way, but you are still angry he gets to go first.

The next morning, he is gone; by sunset, you are on your way to the South Pole, never to return again.


End file.
